Aerospace Unlimited Blog - By Page 2

An emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is an independent battery-powered transmitter that is activated by the excessive G-forces exerted during an aircraft crash. They have the ability to transmit a digital signal every 50 seconds on a frequency of 406.025 MHz at 5 watts for a minimum of 24 hours. This signal can be received anywhere in the world by satellites in the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system.

Engine Mount are probably one of the most important parts in a vehicle or industrial machinery and can be found in airplanes, cars, trains, boats, buses, and any other equipment that necessitates a motor or engine. They are tasked with keeping engines in place, allowing any moving machine to optimally function. For example, when putting fragile components into a box and shaking the box around, the items inside will inevitably become damaged. However, if the components inside are secured with a mount, they will remain intact.

Easier to start when compared to its propeller engine counterparts, jet engines only require compressed air and fuel to start. Jet engines are typically recognized for being a type of reaction engine that generates thrusts by jet propulsion.

A glider, also known as a sailplane, is a type of aircraft that is primarily used for leisure activities and the sport of gliding. Unlike airliners and other similar fixed-wing aircraft, gliders are unpowered, taking advantage of naturally rising air to gain altitude and remain in the atmosphere. With their design, gliders are equipped to traverse a significant distance with small losses in altitude. To better understand how gliders work, and how they compare to other aircraft, we will discuss their design.

Fasteners find use in countless applications, allowing individuals to assemble and secure furniture, aircraft, buildings, and so much more. To accommodate a wide range of materials, loads, sizes, and other assembly characteristics, there are many types of fasteners that one may use. As each differs in their design and capabilities, it can be highly beneficial to have a general understanding of the most basic fastener types before making a purchasing decision. 

Bearings are components that are paramount to the operations of countless assemblies, serving to constrain motion while also minimizing friction between moving parts. Bearings can come in numerous shapes and forms, thrust bearings being a common type that are implemented in assemblies to absorb axial loads. As bearings that are typically found within automobile gearboxes, radio antenna masts, and other various automotive, marine, and aerospace applications, having a general understanding of thrust bearings and their use can be beneficial.

An electrical transducer is a component that is able to transform physical quantities into voltage or electric current, allowing for measurements to be made in the form of electrical signals. Electrical transducers can measure many properties, often being used for pressure, temperature, level, displacement, and much more. As the output signal is always proportional to the quantity that the device measures, transducers are quite reliable and useful for the applications that they serve.

Microprocessor and microcontroller components are two types of integrated circuits (ICs) that are often confused for one another despite serving very different roles and uses. While a microprocessor acts as the processor of a computer with data processing logic and control, a microcontroller is implemented within an embedded system to govern a particular application. As two common components that may be present within many electronic devices and systems, it is important to understand the difference between each and the applications that both serve.

In order for aircraft to maintain heavier-than-air flight over significant distances, they require some form of power generation for the means of producing thrust and propulsion. For many early aircraft and those that are lightweight or general aviation types, the piston engine serves as the most common solution for maintaining flight. Piston engines can come in a variety of forms, some common types being the inline engine, radial engine, horizontally opposed engine, and V-type engine. While each of these types may differ in their construction and operation to some degree, all function through a common working principle.

A gas turbine engine exhaust system is paramount for heat dissipation and performance, ensuring that spent gases are optimally expelled from the engine after combustion. While varying engines may contain different components and complex assemblies, the common function of all exhaust parts is to direct spent gases out of the engine in such a way that an efficient exit velocity is reached without causing turbulence. 

A pressure sensor is a device capable of converting pressure into an electrical signal. They have a wide range of uses in many different applications, so the type of pressure sensors you are using for a given task matters. For example, a pressure sensor that does a good job of measuring oil and gas may not be ideal for measuring hydraulic fluids. Prior to purchasing a pressure sensor, it is important to consider all types to determine which one will best suit your needs.

A valve is a device used to regulate, control, or direct the flow of fluid within a system or process by opening, closing, or partially obstructing it. In piping, many different types of valves are used in varying applications. Valves have an important role within piping systems and often account for up to 30% of the overall piping system costs. However, choosing the wrong type of valve for your system can increase costs markedly, making valve selection as essential to the economics of your system as it is to the operation. 

Resistors are one of the most common components for electronic circuit assembly, and they come in many shapes and forms to provide a variety of properties and characteristics that may benefit differing applications. In their most simplistic form, resistors are passive electronic parts featuring two-terminals, and they are used to provide electrical resistance to a circuit. While seemingly simple, the variations in resistor types allow them to take on different roles such as reducing current flow, terminating transmission lines, dividing voltages, adjusting signal levels, and much more.

Screws are a type of threaded fastener used to join objects and hold them together. A screw consists of a head and threaded section which, depending on the design, may or may not flush out with the surface during fastening. There are many different types of screw heads including flat head, round head, raised head, truss head, bugle head, and more, each designed and used for a specific purpose. This blog will cover the many types of screw heads and their unique characteristics.

While computer hardware was often expensive and fairly unobtainable for the standard consumer during the technology’s infancy, prices have since seen a steady drop leading into the present. Now, consumers have much easier access and ability to create more complex and powerful systems with common components available on the market. With a number of consumer motherboards now offering more than one slot for CPU attachment, shared-memory processors can be used to achieve higher system performance for a number of applications.

A chip detector is an electronic instrument that attracts ferromagnetic particles such as iron chips. Chip detectors are frequently used in aircraft engine oil chip detection systems, where they can offer an early warning of imminent engine failure, thus greatly reducing the cost of an engine overhaul. This blog will provide an overview of chip detectors and their functions.

Within a fluid system, a ball valve serves as a form of quarter turn shut-off valve that may be used to manage the flow of liquids. With a rotary ball that has a straight bore cut through it, fluids can easily pass through the bore while it is positioned along the direction of flow. Once turned 90 degrees, the passage of fluid is removed, blocking liquids from continuing through the system. With this simple operation, ball valves serve as useful components for a great number of residential and commercial fluid applications.

Ice can quickly accumulate, as you can usually tell just by looking or using your car on a very cold day. In cold climates, the ice can stick to your windows, blocking your windows. Not only that, but they can also make certain mechanisms stuck (such as a door or a gear) and result in your car not functioning at all, leaving you stranded where you are. These same issues can also affect an aircraft. As an aircraft needs to be functioning at full capacity in order to safely transport its passengers across the skies, the need to apply an anti-icing solution is even more detrimental. The process of using an anti-icing system is somewhat akin to someone applying a deicing solution to the windows of a vehicle before driving. In principle or idea, they are the same, but as you go through the process, you start to notice the differences. In this article, we will break down the process of using an anti-icing system, and also discuss why using these tools is so important.

Rivet nuts are a type of internally threaded fasteners that is often used for materials that are brittle or thin, allowing for fastening solutions for components that are intolerable of hole tapping. The rivet nut features a one-piece design, allowing for it to be anchored from one side of the component. Rivet nuts were originally developed in 1936 for attaching rubber deicing boots to the leading edge of an aircraft wing, and they have since expanded their use to many more applications. In this blog, we will discuss the various types of rivet nuts and rivet materials that may be chosen from, enabling you to find which is best suited for your needs.

Over the course of a product’s life cycle, the device may require certain changes. Before these changes can be made, a manufacturer must acquire a PMA (Premarket Approval) supplement. A PMA supplement is the submission required for a change regarding the safety or effectiveness of a device for which an applicant already has an existing PMA. Similar to PMA supplements, PMA amendments include all additional submissions to a PMA or PMA supplement prior to approval of the PMA, PMA Supplement, or all additional correspondence after the PMA or PMA supplement.